Johnson stable after suffering fractured skull

Former Texas basketball player Gary Johnson was in stable condition Wednesday morning after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured skull he suffered during a game in Israel, his friend and marketing representative said.

Johnson suffered the injury when his head hit a backboard Tuesday night, according to Christine Krzyzanowski of Two Affix, a Philadelphia-based marketing firm. After arriving at a hospital in Tel Aviv, Johnson was placed in a medically induced coma.

Krzyzanowski, who is in contact with one of Johnson’s agents at the hospital, said the surgery went well but he was not talking as of Wednesday morning.

Johnson, who played four years at Texas from 2007-’11, spent much of this season with Hapoel Galil Elyon of the Israeli league. He had been playing with a stress fracture in his foot, and expected to return to the United States after Tuesday’s game, Krzyzanowski said.

Johnson, a Houston native and former Aldine standout, has endured medical scares before. His college basketball career was put on hold before it began when doctors discovered he had a rare heart condition. After passing months of tests, he was cleared to play in late 2007.

During his time with the Longhorns, Johnson was known not only as one of the team’s toughest players, but also as one of the most insightful interviews on campus. He averaged 11.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a senior.